1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic books. In particular, the invention relates to information exchange with electronic books using cartridge.
2. Description of Related Art
Advances in computer and communication technology have provided the consumers a convenient and economical means to access information in a variety of media. One particular area of information access is the electronic books. An electronic book is a viewing device that receives printed materials downloaded from an information network. A user of an electronic book can read downloaded contents of books and printed materials subscribed from a participating bookstore at his or her own convenience without the need to purchase the printed copies of the books.
An electronic book typically includes programmable memories to store downloaded information in forms of text, graphics, and images. In addition, an electronic book also includes other programmable read only memories (PROM) to store the operating system or code and the starting content. The PROM code includes the executable code that control, manage, and coordinate the operation of the electronic book. The starting content stores static data and parameters that are used by the PROM code for the functioning of the electronic book. During the manufacturing process, the PROM code and starting content are initialized in the assembly line. For production quantities, it is desirable that the initialization of the PROM code and starting content be performed as efficiently as possible to reduce costs and production time in the manufacturing process. In addition, when there are software or data updates for electronic books that are off the assembly line, it is preferable to be able to update the PROM code and starting content at the field rather than to recall the electronic books and re-initialize the PROM code and the starting content at the manufacturing facility. When an electronic book is repaired or service, it is useful to be able to keep a back-up copy of the PROM code and file system.
Initialization of the PROM code and content at the manufacturing facility has a number of problems. An assembly worker has to carefully install the PROM devices into the electronic book in the assembly line. This process is tedious and time consuming. Updating the PROM code and content at the field is even more troublesome. Normally a user is not well trained to physically replace the old PROM devices with the updated ones. Even when the replacement is performed by a trained technician at the field service location, the process is prone to error, tedious, and may cause potential physical damage to the electronic book.
Therefore there is a need in the technology to provide a simple and efficient method to exchange the information contained in the electronic book.